County approves site plan for P-1 Motor Club | St. Lucie County

FORT PIERCE – The St. Lucie County Commission voted unanimously July 21 to approve the final major site plan for the P-1 Motor Club while also agreeing to the developer’s request to modify a few of the 33 staff conditions of approval.

Senior Planner Thad Crowe presented the request that evening for the 626.3-acre property located on the south side of Okeechobee Road near Summerlin Road.

“This is a final site plan for the P-1 Motor Club on Okeechobee Road, [about] 3.8 miles outside the Urban Service Boundary,” he said. “First, a little history: In 2023, the original comprehensive plan amendment was passed to establish the special district for the P-1 Motor Club. That was followed by a second comprehensive plan amendment in 2025, specifically allowing for public or private provision of potable water. The planned mixed use development was approved in 2025 as well.”

Crowe then provided specific details of the plan as he pointed to a map on the overhead screen.

“On the right-hand side is one of the tracks,” he said. “On the left-hand side, is the second track, the Treasure Coast Circuit and the P-1 Circuit. A lot of this stuff – the garagemajals, the residences, the R&D park – is way into the future. Right now, the applicant is focusing on these two tracks.”

Crowe also touched on the applicant’s preliminary landscape plan for the property, which no longer has any native vegetation.

“The applicant did have a conceptual landscape plan they submitted with this application,” he continued. “It’s their intent to work with their landscape firm to develop comprehensive landscaping across the whole site, establishing ecosystems such as native oasis with palms and shade. This is a blank slate and an opportunity to establish reforestation and reintroduce native communities to the site.”

The senior planner provided his own recommendations on that aspect before reading through the conditions of approval.

“We are recommending that the northern and eastern buffer at a minimum should be required in this first phase,” he said. “The landscaping is a work in progress; the applicant has not provided complete details and the Environment Resources Department has been working with us. Their stance on this is that a finalized landscape plan be required prior to development and required landscaping in place prior to the site-development permit. With the recommended conditions, we believe the major site plan is consistent with the adopted P1MC Special District, the PMUD site plan [and] landscape plan.”

When no members of the Board had questions, the developer Ari Strauss came to the podium to request relief from a few of those conditions of approval, some actually related to the landscaping.

“We have a handful of really minor conditions that we would like to ask the Board to consider modifying,” he said. “We’ve had a number of delays [and] we’re still working through some water agreements. While it’s in discussion, it’s really critical that we demonstrate some progress. We’re anxious to get the first circuit up and running hopefully in several months for our members.”

Strauss then enumerated conditions, 6, 7, 27, 31 and 32 for modification. The sixth condition was the only one unrelated to landscaping, but rather required the developer to separate the bicycle or walking lanes from internal roadways.

“We intend to build the cross-sections that are included in the PMUD plans, which actually has a seven-foot travel lane on both sides of the road,” he said. “We would adhere to these cross-sections unless we provide an alternate travel path that pulls members or guests away from the travel lanes. In some of our landscape renderings, we show areas where a pedestrian or bike could actually leave the travel lane and then go through unpaved sections.”

The seventh condition required him to plant shade trees along the roadways 30 feet apart.

“We’re asking if we can change it from shade trees to native trees,” he explained. “The idea is give us flexibility with an average of 30 feet for it to not look like a cookie-cutter project. Instead, we want it to appear more like native plantings.”

While Conditions 31 and 32 were related to his desire to preserve native trees along the Summerlin Road right of way, Strauss’ requested relief from number 27 eventually got pushback from county staff.

“We would ask for – rather than prior to commencement of development – that we would provide the finalized landscape plan within 12 months of the commencement of development,” he said. “Then within 24 months of commencement, we will complete all the landscaping plans for Okeechobee Road, the entrance, all the completed interior roads and the littoral plantings around the stormwater ponds and lakes. As we get the first track running, we’ll have a lot of work around the site with earth-moving equipment and ponds being dug. It would be difficult to have all of the landscaping done and in place.”

District 1 Commissioner James Clasby immediately asked Planning Manager Kori Benton to confirm that his staff had no objections to the applicant’s modifications.

“I don’t think we have concerns or conflicts with the provision of time, as long as we have a plan or goal,” Benton replied.

Commissioner Clasby then admitting to having met with ERD staff in his office and expressed his support for the modifications.

“I don’t mind delaying when they are compliant with their landscaping requirements, only that they eventually do [comply],” he said. “That portion on number 27… seems like a reasonable timeline.”

Environmental Regulations Manager Aimee Cooper, however, still wasn’t convinced, asking Strauss to reiterate that timeframe.

“Within 12 months of commencement, the applicant shall provide all the way to the landscape typicals plan,” he explained. “Within 24 months of commencement, we will complete the landscaping plans for Okeechobee Road, the entrance, all of the completed interior roads and all of the littoral plantings. If that modification is approved, I believe that eliminates number 28.”

His last comment on a separate condition concerned Environmental Planner Brian Ingram, however.

“I think ERD’s okay with deferring some of it,” he said. “But by eliminating Condition 28, they would be authorized to use the track without the code-required landscaping.”

After back-and-forth clarification questions between commissioners and Strauss, Cooper posed her own question directly to the developer.

“I need some details here on what minimum landscaping would be installed for the first track so that we have a better understanding,” she said. “Then for the second track, would it be possible to have a majority of the landscaping installed?”

“We could commit to that,” Strauss answered. “For clarification, within 12 months of commencing development, we’ll provide the finalized landscape plan. And where I suggested within 24 months of commencement, we will complete the plans for Okeechobee Road entrance and littoral plantings around the ponds. We could commit to having that done before the second track, the P-1 Circuit, is open, since we believe it will be roughly a year and a half instead of the two years we asked for. If that is amenable to you, we would be amenable to that as well.”

After Cooper found that acceptable, the County Commission voted unanimously to approve the major final site with the modifications to the conditions of approval.